By CLIFF DUNN — It wouldn’t be fair to say that William Patrick had no idea what he was in for when he moved from Chicago to help open Progress South Florida as its lead bartender.

Still, his first sight of the place—I’m talking his VERY FIRST SIGHT EVER of South Florida—was from the airplane when he landed in Fort Lauderdale on July 8.

“I moved here blindly,” Patrick admits with a laugh. “I really enjoy a new challenge, so I was excited about coming to South Florida. I love the tropics.”

William Patrick, 26, was born in the north suburbs of Chicago, famous for such residents as basketball legend Michael Jordan, Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corrigan, and mobster Al Capone (he of St. Valentine’s Day Massacre fame).

A bartender since his early 20s, Patrick’s first gig was working at a straight sports bar in Highwood,

Illinois, which earned its place in the Guinness Book of World Records following World War II for having the most bars per capita in the world.

“It also featured in the Haymarket Riot,” Patrick adds.

“The Haymarket Riot,” I ask? “As in the 1886 Haymarket Riot?”

This isn’t your usual bar conversation. (Well, gay-bar conversation, anyway.)

In addition to an unparalleled depth of knowledge about 19th Century Chicago, Patrick studied art history, and sees that field as his possible post-bartending, “grown-up” future.

“I worked in some really amazing art galleries when I was younger, and would like to see what happens when it’s time to pick that up again,” he muses.

In the meantime, he’s doing now what he really wants to be doing.

“My plans for the future are happening naturally. It’s an organic process. Bartending was a childhood fantasy for me,” he admits. “So I am fulfilling something that I’ve always wanted to do.”

Patrick previously worked at the company’s flagship bar, Progress Chicago, moving with select members of management to oversee the build of the new club.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Patrick says about his job, which began with the opening of Progress South Florida in September.

He isn’t just referring to the beach, although there is that.

“There’s a gay beach in Chicago,” Patrick acknowledges. “And it’s awesome, but it’s not really as nice or as beautiful as the ocean beaches here. The Chicago River has nothing on the Intracoastal or Atlantic Ocean,” he adds.

Another body of water which he enjoys is Biscayne Bay, upon which he recently enjoyed a midnight cruise.

So he likes the water?

“Definitely,” he replies.

I venture to ask him his favorite color. “Blue,” Patrick answers.

On a roll, I inquire as to his favorite animal. “Otter,” he says without hesitation (although he insists that he isn’t one in the Bear/Cub sense).

“I helped to create most of the specialty drinks we serve at Progress,” Patrick acknowledges.

In his professional opinion, what would he recommend as a “cocktail to impress?”

“When I started bartending, I went through a long ‘whiskey’ phase. I think there is something very classic about the Old Fashioned (a whiskey cocktail made by muddling sugar with bitters, a garnished with twist of citrus rind).

“It has subtle ‘notes’ of other tastes that make it both sweet and flavorful,” he adds.

That sounds like smart, modern mixology advice from an old-fashioned-bartending kind of boy.

Keep ’em coming.

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